Saturday: Today:
“Excuse me, do you have the time?”
“No, but the Big
Dipper does.”
You can use the
orientation of the Big Dipper to tell time with a precision of about 15-30
minutes. First, find the two stars at the far end of the Big Dipper cup, the
stars that do not touch the handle. Draw an imaginary line segment starting at
the North Star and passing through the two Big Dipper cup stars. Now, draw a
big circle around the North Star. Your circle is a 24-hour clock. Number the
circle from 0 hours at the top, counterclockwise to 12 hours at the bottom of
the circle, and back up to 24 hours at the top. (O hours and 24 hours are the
same on this clock because the day is 24 hours long.) The hour number on the
big circle closest to where your imaginary line intersects this circle is
called your raw time. Due to the location of the Big Dipper compared to the
rest of the stars, the time nearest the intersection (the raw time) is correct
for March 6. For any other night, subtract two times the number of months the current
date is after March 6 from the raw time. For example, let’s say the imaginary
line between the North Star and the Dipper stars is pointed to the right. That
means the raw time is 18 hours or 6 p.m. If you made this observation on
October 6, which is seven months after March 6, you would subtract two times
seven or 14 hours from the raw time. Thus, the time for November 6 is 18
hours minus 14 hours or 4 hours. In other words, 4 a.m. Don’t forget to convert
for daylight savings time if needed. For a more complete explanation on how to
do the Big Dipper clock math, go to http://goo.gl/02HmA. If you prefer a
more visual tool, and a fun project to do with your kids, there is a simple
“star clock” template and instructions at http://goo.gl/SFKrE. Use this paper
star clock whenever you watch is broken.
Sunday: Jupiter is
one fist above due southwest at 7:56 p.m. The bright star Antares is about two
fists to the left of Jupiter, above the south-southwest horizon. Even though
Antares is a supergiant, it still looks like a point through most telescopes.
Most, but not all. Astronomers used the European Space Agency Very Large
Telescope Interferometer to create an image of the surface of
Antares. To see that image for yourself, go to https://goo.gl/Y4G4WF. To see Antares
for yourself, look outside.
Monday: The
calendar says summer is nearing an end. School starting says summer is nearing
an end. The summer triangle in the sky begs to differ, as it is still high in
the sky. Vega, the brightest star in the triangle, is a little bit south of
straight overhead at sunset. Deneb is six and a half fists above the east horizon
and Altair is five fists above the southeast horizon.
Tuesday: In 1987,
the rock group Def Leppard sang “Pour some sugar on me, in the name of love.
Pour some sugar on me, come on fire me up”. In 2012, some European astronomers
“found some sugar near stars, they were very young. Found some sugar near
stars, out where planets formed.” Astronomers observed molecules of
glycolaldehyde, a simple form of sugar, in the disk of gas and dust orbiting
young binary stars. This is the first time astronomers have found this simple
sugar so close to a star indicating that organic molecules can be found in
planet-forming regions of stars. For more information, go to http://goo.gl/tfwy1.
Wednesday: Venus
and the bright star Spica are just above the west-southwest horizon at 8 p.m.
They are between the waxing crescent moon and the horizon.
Thursday: Had the
script been written a little differently for a well-known Robin Williams movie,
we might have heard Mr. Williams shout, “Goooood Morning Orion the hunter”.
Orion is typically thought of as a winter constellation. But, it makes its
first appearance in the early morning summer sky. The lowest corner of Orion’s
body, represented by the star Saiph (pronounced “safe”), rises at 2 a.m., well
before the Sun. By 6 a.m., Orion’s belt is nearly four fists above the
south-southeast horizon.
Friday: At 8 p.m.,
Saturn is two fists above the south horizon and Mars is one and a half fists
above the south-southwest horizon.
The positional
information in this column about stars and planets is typically accurate for
the entire week. For up to date information about the night sky, go to https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/planner.cfm.
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